The Royalty Code
by Fira Astrali
Summary: Wolf's retirement comes to an abrupt end, when his only son becomes deathly ill of an unknown cause. To find a cure, he must team up with his greatest enemy, and return to the planet where they're rivalry started... if only it were so easy.
1. Prologue & Chapter 1

A/N: Hello again! Hopefully some of you actually remember who I am ^^; After A silence that I believe has lasted me at least a year, I have come offering the newest instalment in my series! For those of you that read Oban Sarr, I will not be continuing with that work, and instead have combined Wolf's origins into the coming works.

Enjoy!

_Cerberus O'Donnell: GUILTY!_

_The verdict came down today, ending the three month, high profile trial of the famous energy Baron. Found guilty of all three counts of treason, he has been handed down consecutive life sentences with no chance of parole. Rumours are already flying around this sensational case. It has been reported that James McCloud, who's testimony was heavily relied upon during the case, had tried shortly before the close to retract his statements, apparently claiming "We've got it wrong", but was silence by official channels._

_Another report: His assets being frozen, his young family has supposedly been left out in the cold by the Lylat government. Two of his children have secured visas to an unnamed planet in the system, but nothing has been said of his third child or his wife, who is rumoured to have serious mental issues. The treatment for which had been cut off preceding the trial._

_It stands to be noted that none of these allegations have been proved to be true._

_- Excerpt from the Cornerian International Times_

_XxX_

_"Usually, anyone that comes to Eladard is left on their own, but due to your condition, and the fact that you've got a baby to take care of, the government has decided to take your case into special consideration. We've got some spaces in the subsidized housing district, so at least you'll have a roof over your head." The last part was little more than a mutter from the shabby fennec that was leading the fearful young mother through the streets, trying desperately to calm her squalling baby while at the same time racing to keep up with the man's quick strides._

_"Can't you shut that little brat up?" the man snapped. the rest of the shady characters nearby seemed to share the man's sentiment as they glowered angrily at the crying child. The young woman shivered, terrified that if he wasn't quiet soon, one of the rogues nearby would silence him permanently._

_"He's cold," the woman offered as a feeble explanation. the fennec glared at her._

_"If that's all he's got to cry about, he's doin' great. Right through there, you'll find it." He was pointing into a dark, narrow corridor. It turned a sharp right, out of site. Any number of monsters could be hiding back there._

_"Are you sure that it's safe to go in there alone...?" When she turned, she found she'd been addressing the shadows. The man had gone and left her. She glanced back fearfully at the dark passage, then at the people around her. Most had already lost interest in her and gone back about their bleak lives. Only a few continued to stare in that way that could make someone's skin crawl. They all looked the same; dirty, hungry, and hopeless. Like they had nothing to live for and were just waiting for death to come and take them. She gazed sadly down at her still crying son, tears rolling down her cheeks as she contemplated all of the nothing that lay waiting for him._

_She jumped a mile when a hand pressed against the small of her back, and a female's voice spoke in her ear._

_"Looks like a finicky baby you've got there."_

_She jumped back, out of the reach of the avian that was speaking to her. She was copper coloured, and the clothes that she was wearing made her look like a girl for hire. Not exactly threatening, but the young mother was still terrified. "Who...?"_

_The avian smiled warmly. "Sorry, didn't think you'd spook so bad. But I guess since where you come from'n'all. I'm Wrya, you're living in the same unit as me." She held her hand out for the lupine. When she didn't reciprocate, the avian began to walk into the dark side street. "So I'm thinking you don't wanna' be walking this street yourself? That's what it looked like to me."_

_The lupine mother watched Wrya walk backwards, slowly being swallowed by the dark. "Wait!" She finally cried, running after her. Wrya held out an arm to wrap around the young woman's shoulders when she got nearer. They walked together, Wrya's sharp glare and serrated beak enough to keep most predators at bay. She warned the mother to keep her baby close, about how easily he could disappear on such a dark world._

_Eventually, the passage deposited them in a wide cemented courtyard, walled on every side with brick, some of which still kept it's red colour. In the center of the open space was a square stone box that looked to have once been a planter, although all the plants had long since withered and died from lack of care and sunlight. it's ceiling was the dirty, sulpher yellow sky. Children's laughter brightened the dreary place, as they ran around playing. Older men, the fathers she presumed, watched as they played so that none wandered off._

_Wrya led her charge through the maze of happy children to the door on the opposite side of the court. Inside was dimly lit, but warm from so many bodies inside a small space. It looked like what had been a house before Eladard had become a slum planet. It was was made up of about eleven rooms, or units, in which 44 people total now resided. Mother and child made 46. The only room not used for living in was the small, cramped kitchen. The entire place smelled of filth and disease. Wrya mentioned this was one of the less crowded dwellings._

_She led the mother up a set of rickety stairs to a makeshift nursery full of cots and dirty bedrolls and toddlers that were too sick to play outside. Toddlers it was plain to see would never play outside again. In the far corner, near a tiny fire, were three cribs. Wrya gently took the pup, despite it's mother's whimpers, and placed him in the third crib, since the other two were already full with three babies each. His crying, which had abated with the sound of laughter, started up again in whimpers. His mum rushed to his side, stroking his cheek with her fingers. The baby next to him coughed dryly._

_"I know this ain't what you're used to," Wrya piped up as she scurried around the room, doing what little she could to tidy the place up, "but there's worse places to be. The people here'r nice, they won't try to steal from you or anything. And there's a nice place for the kids to play. The fathers look after all the kids here ya'know, not just there own. Some places, if they saw your kid wandering off, they'd let him go so there'd not be another mouth to feed. And... ah, um... I'm not helpin' am I," she decided to herself when she saw the lupine's hopeless expression. She walked over and put a hand on her shoulder. "No one ever wants to come here, but you gotta' make the best of it. You make the best of it, and you'll be alright."_

_"Whozat, mum?" a tiny voice said from around Wrya's knee. Wrya took up the hand of a skinny avian that matched her in colour and markings, it had to be her daughter._

_"This is the woman they said was coming to live with us. She's from... Corneria? You know, I never did get your name."_

_The mother looked up sadly from her child. "I am Varanessa O'Donnell, and this is my son, Amadeus Wolfgang... But you can call him Wolf,"_

XxX

The ungodly hours, those were the ones that seemed Wolf visited most often these days. He sat quietly on the porch glider, watching the fresh morning sun peak over the white wash fences and manicured trees, lighting the world and blotting out the twinkle of distant stars. It was early spring, and the earth smelled of dampness and rebirth. Besides the chirps and calls of freshly emerged insects, not a living thing stirred. In the weak light, a passerby could have even missed the ex-mercenary. Sitting as still as one could on a swinging seat, the man seemed to blend into into the shadows, as if he'd never existed at all.

"Wolf?" a gentle voice asked from the glass sliding door. He turned his head just enough to acknowledge he had heard his name. When a few seconds passed and there was no more, he grunted for his wife to go on. Instead he heard soft, bare footsteps on the wood of the porch.

A tall, lithe figure appeared before him, a sprite from the darkness. A darkly furred lupine, she would have blended in with the dawn had she not been wearing a thin white nightgown. It made her seem like an angel. She smiled gently at Wolf, a comforting smile that she'd offered him many times ever since the letter had come. He looked away, not wanting to be comforted just then. The glider creaked softly as she sat down next to him.

"You know, it's a little frustrating, falling asleep next to my husband and waking up alone."

"I can't sleep."

He glanced down as her long, thin fingers wrapped around his own, squeezing his hand gently. It embarrassed him. He was supposed to be the strong one, the protector and comforter. He wasn't supposed to fall to pieces like this.

"Look, hun, Dr. Regal will be able to figure this out. Her prescriptions worked wonders on Sloan, you've got almost perfect vision in your unaugmented eye thanks to her. She'll find a way. Trust me. Conrad's at the medical centre on Fortuna right now..." Silence. "...I got a call, he's in stable condition, doing really well. She'll figure it out..."

He nodded, trying at the same time to shake the stinging in his eye. If only he could have such faith. He looked again at the papers in his hand. A letter and some test results confirming the worst. Malignant, rapidly spreading, terminal. There was nothing the doctors at Corneria General could do. He shifted the papers slightly to reveal a slightly tattered photo. It was the one he used to carry with him, his young and healthy son frozen forever in his arms. His only son. He looked up at his wife, no longer able to hide the despair in his eyes.

"What if she can't, Bristol? What if Conrad..."

His voice caught in his throat. He couldn't even voice the horrific possibility.

xxx

"Up and at 'em, ladies and gentlemen! Breakfast is hot and we're on a deadline!" Fox called through his whitewash, open concept home. Krystal entered the kitchen carrying a little pup -three year old Marcus- on her hip.

"Mmm, smells good."

"Doesn't it always? Sit down before it gets cold."

"It's great, thanks. Hey, I got a call from the Fortuna Medical Centre, Miasma is doing great. They've got her stabilized."

"Thank god." Fox sat down at the table with a cup of coffee, looking over the results from the fresh battery of tests that had been performed on his young daughter. The McCloud family problems had started when Miasma was sent to the emergency room at Corneria General for sudden heart failure, even though she was just a toddler. Her condition steadily worsened until she was dependant on life support and nearly comatose. The doctors told him they'd never seen anything like it before, but it was spreading quickly and would very likely be deadly. They then told him that another child had recently come in with the same symptoms, and had been transfered to the new and innovative Medical Centre for Integrated Health Sciences on Fortuna. It had been reported that the boy's condition had improved, and that Fox take the same course of action. It had been almost a week since she had been sent over, and they were planning a visit.

Breakfast was the same loud affair, started and finished in a whirlwind of noise and toddler complaints. Fox didn't have anything much besides his coffee, to nervous to really eat. A part of him couldn't quite believe that whatever had suddenly stricken Mia would clear up as quickly and tamely as a cold. He quietly got up from the table, telling Krystal he still needed to pack a few things. He left for the open suitcase in his bedroom, sporadically half-packed from the night before. It was a long weekend coming up, and they planned to stay over it so they could spend time with Mia without Marcus missing school. The tickets for the shuttle over was sitting on the top of his luggage, and he took them out and but them on the dresser, as not to lose them while he ripped everything out to repack. The tickets ended up next to his PDA.

He picked it up, wondering if he should take it or not. Krystal would say absolutely not, that his daughter was more important than his job. After the fall of the Aparoids, he hadn't retired from duty. In fact General Hare had a direct line to him via his PDA, but Peppy knew that Krystal didn't like Fox running off to defend the solar system all the time now that they had started a family, so he only called him in the most dire of emergencies. Due to that, Fox had barely worked since the birth of his son. He turned it over in his hands once. There was nothing on it that he would need, no booking information or shuttle times. In truth, he'd only ever really used it for business. If he left it, it would be no loss. Still, even now a part of him hoped that it would go off. It was hard for a warrior to put down his sword.

He heard Krystal coming down the hall. He just had time to throw the thing back on the dresser and go back to packing before she entered.

"I just need a shower and we can leave." She stopped on her way to the master bathroom to give her husband a quick kiss before moving on. "Do me a favour and make sure our darling child doesn't kill himself while I'm in the shower." She slipped into the bathroom.

Fox was about to go out to where Marcus was playing, when a green light flashed from the bedside dresser. It was the colour of the PDA display. He glanced into the open door of the bathroom. Krystal was hidden safely behind the shower curtain. He picked it up. It was from Peppy, of course. Another glance, this time out the bedroom door to make sure Mark wasn't chewing on any electrical wires out in the family room, before turning his attention to the words on the screen.

The message was short and sweet:

_Extreme danger. New Aparoid signals found coming from isolated portion of Fortuna rainforest . Problem must be contained before outbreak. You are our only hope. Co-ordinates are as follows:_

Fox gasped as he read the numbers. The Aparoids had been located within a breath of the Medical Institute.

Within a breath of his daughter.


	2. Chapter 2

The rainforest was an ominous place. The wet, heavy darkness had the chance to be peaceful, but there was some underlying evil that seemed to be lurking just out of sight. The air glistened with the full spectrum wherever light managed to break through the thick canopy that hung high above Fox. It was supported by massive, ancient trees whose width was best measured in metres. Where the leaves created a complete barrier from the sun, the darkness was so unadulterated it seemed like night. And it wasn't just the trees that had grown beastly, every shrub and fern had grown to monstrous proportions, creating solid walls of colour wherever he looked, and making him feel miniscule.

Double checking his position, he confirmed this was the last place that the Aparoid had been located. Behind him, barely two kilometres away, was the Medical Centre. Krystal was there, understanding why he had to go. Even if there was anyone else who could take on an Aparoid and survive, there was no way Fox would sit back while his daughter could be in danger. Krystal had reluctantly agreed to stay behind, knowing that if something serious happened, putting both parents in the line of fire would have been madness. And, with no time to call Falco, Fox was on his own.

Something crunched not too far off. Fox whipped around, his weapon leveled at any possible danger. He was confronted by a large, brightly coloured Rixly bird. It glared angrily at him and wraaked, as if demanding an explanation as to why its lunch of fist sized, hanging vine fruits had been disturbed. Fox laughed nervously, chiding himself on being so jumpy, and continued on his slow patrol.

After an hour, his nerves began to fray. The slightest shift in the leaves made vivid patterns of light suddenly appear. The underbrush was constantly rustling, as if it had taken on a life of its own. He would have sworn on his father's grave that eyes were glaring out from the darkness at him every time he turned around. More than one Rixly had met its fate thanks to a jumpy trigger finger.

It was growing more and more clear to him that even if this tip wasn't sour, trying to find anything that wasn't looking to be found would be next to impossible. He checked his comm. signal. It was weak, but he might be able to get a signal through to Peppy, tell him there was nothing here. He was fairly close to the destroyed remains of Andrew's secret base. It was possible the energy source could have been misidentified, and was really from a haywire generator wasn't quite dead yet.

A flicker of light caught the corner of his eye. It wasn't the same as before; pale and white, not rich and golden which was usually cast through the leaves. He turned his head just a bit. There, peeking out from a crevice between two tree trunks, was his target, a pale light emanating from its body. At first he thought that maybe it was some kind of tropical lizard, but as it shifted uneasily in its hiding place, Fox became more sure of its identity.

"I thought I'd taken care of all you freaks," he growled. It did nothing in reply. If it was an Aparoid, it had adapted and evolved greatly since the last time they had met. It now sported humanoid limbs with, four long, silvery fingers on each hand that gripped tightly at the bark. From its scalp grew dreadlock-like tendrils that had to be easily half a metre long. The eyes, the only other remarkable feature on its smooth grey face besides a slash of a mouth, were little more than large white pools of empty light. If Fox had to guess at a gender, the emaciated form had just enough curve to the hips that he could say female.

It was staring directly at him, trading its sad gaze between his face and his Blaster. Occasionally, it would let out a soft, high note that Fox took to be some sort of primitive language. As it cooed at him, it slowly moved from its well hidden spot out more into the open, crawling like a lizard onto a nearby fallen trunk. Its feet were almost as dexterous as its hands, and its movements were swift and sure-footed. Fox smirked. He reached slowly for a hip holstered projectile pistol that he had brought just in case it was plasma resistant.

Its head suddenly perked, turning around to face the Medical Center as if it had heard some private frequency. Suddenly Fox was forgotten as it prepared to follow the silent call. The horrible thought crossed Fox's mind; could it be answering a signal from a Queen? He wasn't going to wait and find out. He had the pistol unholstered in a second, and managed to fire off two rounds before the Aparoid realized what was going on. One round thudded into the bark next to the creature, but the other struck home. A blood curdling screech peeled from the creature. It obviously had no natural defense, because the round ripped through the sleek skin of its shoulder like it was water. Fox was astonished when blue blood splattered on the foliage behind it. The strange, crystalline bodies that had given them such protection before seemed to have been shed for a more organic design.

It turned back to him, a look of horrified shock on its plain face. He wasn't expecting such clear and vivid emotions. It took him back so much he hesitated in taking another shot. In that moment, it had sprang from its perch and had taken off at breakneck speed. In fear for his daughter, Fox followed.

It wasn't too hard to keep track of, since blue liquid still marked every leaf that the Aparoid brushed past. He could just barely see it up ahead, catching occasional glimpses of the eerie light it threw off. It was slowing down, weakened by blood loss, he was getting closer. The pistol was brought to bear again. This time he wouldn't miss.

As if to aid in his finishing shot, the foliage suddenly ceased to exist. They had hit a wide open clearing. There was no gradual ease of plant life, just a sudden drop off that could be attributed to the battle zone the forest became during the war. The sudden clearing gave Fox a clear view of the centre. It loomed large above him, closer than he thought. If the Aparoid escaped now, it could easily get into the building.

It had tripped and slid, and was now floundering in the dirt on the other side of the clearing. It would have been an easy enough shot to make, if a pale coloured lupine had not been standing right next to it, listening to its cries of pain and fear. His sudden appearance through Fox for loop.

Where the hell did you come from? He wondered, but he didn't have time to ponder it further, the young man was in danger. "Hey!" he shouted, "hey! Get away from it! It's dangerous!"

"Not dangerous. Completely harmless," the lupine replied, his voice flat lined and hoarse. His wolfish head turned slowly towards him. He looked like a completely normal, albeit athletic and broad shouldered, youth; except his eyes. They held irises and pupils, but they were completely blind, and gave off a faint sickly glow.

Just like the Aparoid. With a sickly feeling in his gut, Fox realized whose call his prey had been answering to.

Fox let two more bullets fly. Two thuds, two jerks from the young man's left arm told Fox he had hit his target. Yet, the lupine did not fall, did not even falter, he just stared glaring at Fox like he was some kind of disgusting bug. He held out his hand. Two holes oozed with blood, red blood. He had taken the shots like they were nothing.

"The only danger is you."

Split second movements propelled the lupe across the barren field. Fox blinked. The dead-eyed man was nose to nose with him. He barely had time to wonder how someone could ever be that fast before an unimaginable blow to his solar plexus exploded his world into white light. Pain rushed into him where the air left him. He had the feeling of his feet leaving the ground, and about two seconds later, his head smashing into something hard. Wet heat spilled from the contact spot, and he knew his head had split open. He crumpled to the ground like a ragdoll. A hazy boot came into view as he struggled to regain his feet. A little scratch at the dirt, then a wind up kick put the cap on his pain.

XxX

His consciousness returned in pieces. The feeling came first. He was lying on something relatively soft, there was something stuck in his arm that might be an IV. Maybe someone had found him before the Aparoids had a chance to finish him off.

Then came his sight. He was in a brightly lit room that was over half glass. Out of this huge bay window he had a clear view of the overgrown foliage. Definitely still on Fortuna. The effort of turning his head was almost too much to handle, but he managed to pan the room. His sight was still foggy, but he could make out certain medical apparatus, other people in the room. A blue fox stood close by the bed, gripping his hand, Krystal. She was watching a discussion between the apparent doctor and a tall lupine figure. She was very animated, and Fox couldn't help but wonder who she was so angry at. The young man looked familiar. Dark fur, dark clothes, a static expression, and...

Everything that had happened came crashing down on him. The Aparoid and the chase. The dead-eyed boy and the bullet wounds. Fox tried to call out, to warn someone, but all that came was a hoarse croak. That first sound opened the flood gates of noise from the room into his ears. Medical equipment, the drone of air systems, and the harsh words coming from the doctor.

"You could have KILLED him! Then what would you have done? You're smarter than this, Knight!"

"Doctor Regal, he's awake," Krystal quietly broke in.

Her head snapped around so violently, Fox knew her rage was about to be turned on him. Her dark green eyes flashed behind frameless glasses. She checked her anger, however, and approached as calmly as she could, producing a small scanning device from her pocket. The Aparoid she had called Knight began to approach with her, but stopped short when he saw Fox recoil. The doctor did not miss the action, and a flash of annoyance crossed her features.

"I see you two have met. How's your head? Knight says you were thrown a fair distance," she told him as she directed him to lean forward so she could pass the scanner over his skull and the base of his spine. "You must have the almighty's ear, to come out of there without a broken neck, much less a concussion."

"He's right there," Fox growled low. Nobody seemed to hear him, and the Aparoid continued to stare at him like some kind of absorbed child. Regal made him lie back down, and ran the scanner over his face, his ribs, everything between his ears and his waist, to make sure there were not internal injuries from his little dance with Knight.

"Doctor," Fox tried again. "That man, he's an Aparoid. You need to-"

"One thing at a time, McCloud. Let me see you walk."

Fox did as she asked. It was only a few steps, but she must have been satisfied, because she took the IV out of his arm. She took his pulse, other routine things. Fox noticed as she did that she was very small, barely reaching up to his shoulder. She couldn't have been more than five feet tall. She ushered him to sit down, and he took his spot back on the bed.

"Now, about these Aparoid shenanigans," she said matter-of-factly, slipping the scanner back into the pocket of her lab coat, "You stumbled into an active research site, a site, might I add, that you've done irreparable damage too."

"An active research site full of Aparoids? Just what kind of research are you nuts doing here?" Fox asked, alarmed both at the lunacy of this woman, which was quickly becoming apparent, and the fact that he had trusted his child to her. The fact that Krystal was so calm bothered him as well.

Regal didn't answer for a time. Instead, she just leaned against a work table, studying him intently. Fox could see the wheels turning in her head, as if she was running through a complicated series of probabilities.

"Maybe we should show you," she finally said, taking Fox by surprise. "You've already placed a radical variable in the test field, I guess it couldn't hurt. That, and I've got a legal responsibility to allow you counsel on your daughter's treatment.

Fox's face froze. The incredulous look that had been there melted off, and was replaced by one of shock and terror.

"…Mia, is being, treated, by Aparoids?"


	3. Chapter 3

_"Get out, you little BASTARD!"_

_"Adhes, you can't do this, he's only a boy!"_

_"Get the hell off me, you bitch!"_

_The crack of hand on cheek shook Wolf out of the shock and fear that had paralyzed him. He picked himself up off the ground, coughing up the mud that had splattered over his face. He tried to make himself more dangerous by drawing himself up to his full height, like he'd seen the fighters do, but he barely reached up to Adhes' waist. Still, the anger and hatred roiling in him made him feel big enough to take on the well built pirate._

_"Don't... touch... my mother!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, his tiny hands balling into fists. Adhes just laughed at him._

_"Oh, we've got a big man on our hands. You want me to put you in your place, too?"_

_Wolf launched himself at the lupine, despite Wrya's pleading screams for them to stop. His claws dug into the skin of Adhes' forearm, exposed where he had rolled up his sleeve. He roared with rage, grabbed Wolf by the neck, and wrenched him off, shaking him hard before tossing him against the stone wall. Wolf cried out, his ears filled with the sound of his bones cracking against the brick. He fell back to the mud, struggling and unable to regain his footing. His struggling became more frantic with every slow, deliberate step Adhes took towards him. Wrya reached out and grabbed his hand, begging him to leave the child be. He simply wrenched it back out of her grip._

_A savage kick struck Wolf hard in the gut. He gasped, his breath rushing out of him, chased away by the pain of his ribs breaking like twigs under the force of the blow. He collapsed like a rag doll. A second blow struck him in the face. It was hard enough to make his face explode in blood, not hard enough to kill him. When, even after all the hits he took, he still tried to get back up and protect Wrya, Adhes pinned him with his boot pressing hard against his chest. Fresh pain from his broken ribs tore through him again. The sound of a gun cocking made Wolf's gasped breaths froze in his throat. He looked up into the barrel of a gun._

_"So, who's the big man now?"_

_Wrya struggled from where she had been slumped, throwing herself on Adhes. He growled in frustration and tried to shoulder her off, but with Wolf's life in the balance she would not be thrown away again._

_"C'mon, he's just a kid trying to take care of his mum, don't shoot him, you can't! Adhes I promised his mom!" She reached out and grabbed the gun, begging him. Adhes' red eyes connected for a moment with Wolf's purple ones. The gun was uncocked and put away._

_"Oh god, thank you, thank you..." Wyra murmured._

_"Get out," Adhes snarled. Wolf and Wyra paused. Adhes lashed out and grabbed Wolf by the scruff, lifting him and tossing him towards the exit of the sheltered courtyard. "Get out. You can thank her that you're still alive, but if I ever see your face again, you won't be so lucky."_

_"Adhes, please, he can't live out there by himself."_

_"Shut up, woman! I never want to see you back here again." He grabbed Wrya's arm and began to drag her back towards the entrance to the apartments._

_"Mum!" Wolf cried, leaning against the wall for support. She turned back to him with tears in her eyes. He trusted her. She would never let that monster throw her surrogate son out of his own home. She would protect him like she always did. She loved him._

_Adhes wrenched her arm. She had to turn around and follow him wordlessly back into the house. Not even a goodbye. Wolf began to walk down the dark passage to the rest of the city. He had just tried to protect the people he loved. Now he was alone._

XxX

Krystal's delicate fingers closed gently around his wrist, hoping to stem the rage that would undoubtedly bubble up after the shock had dissipated.

"It's not like that. Dr. Regal explained it to me while you slept... they're under direction from one of her lab techs, its very safe-"

"Krystal, there are aparoids within the immediate vicinity of our daughter! Do you not remember what happened two years ago?"

"That was then, Fox. These aparoids are a new breed, they aren't interested in death."

"And I assume you are just taking this all on faith?"

"You don't have to take my word for it," Regal cut in. "Like I said, I'll show you exactly what is happening to Mia and the other boy who's sick."

"Yeah, well I'd like to see it."

"Come this way then."

She led them through the medical centre to a hanger. Inside was a small anti-grav vessel that was only meant for small excursions. It was roomier than it looked from the outside, and that suited Fox just fine. He wanted to sit as far away as possible from the doctor and her aparoids. Knight had come with them, and he sat at the doctors right, turned all the way around in his seat so he could watch Fox as intently as Fox was watching him.

Regal tapped a few switches, and a slight vibration ran through the hull. It was the only sign that the machine was now on. Another couple of button presses, and the heavy steel doors of the hanger slid open, making a far cry more noise than the ship about to pass through. Without any more instruction from the doctor, the ship lifted up and proceeded out the doors on a predetermined course.

"Now, if you're calm enough, I'd like to explain a little more of what's going on before we get to the hive. Out there, hidden amongst the treeline, is an aparoid civilization. It was made from a piece of crystal that was found post-war during the Corneria clean up. This is a highly secretive experiment, so I trust you'll keep all this information to yourself."

"Or else what?" Fox growled. The anger that he'd seen in Regal's eyes earlier came bubbling back to the surface. She was not a hard one to piss off.

"Or else I'd hate to have to explain to my insurance adjuster why the door to the shuttle opened up on the way through the jungle. It's a hell of a drop from above the canopy."

Fox was about to snap back, but Krystal put a hand on his shoulder. He could see there was an immediate look of regret in Regal's eyes. He held is tongue, and instead just glared at the doctor. She watched him for a few seconds, then sighed and turned back around to the control panel, busying herself with something Fox couldn't see.

There was silence in the cabin for the rest of the trip. Fox just sat and glared at the back of Regal's head, knowing that Krystal would be watching his thoughts.

The ship glided to a halt in midair. The trip had been so smooth that Fox didn't even really notice their change in direction until there was a weight shift in the vehicle as it began to descend to the forest floor. He felt the well cared for beast settle on the ground, and the door opened to let in the heat and sound of the jungle. Fox stood and glanced at Regal. Without a word, she motioned for him to exit. He did so, with her following close behind.

They were in a section of jungle that his search had not taken him to. It seemed innocent enough. The same sound and smells, if only a little more light from holes made in the canopy from felled trees

"Now what?" He asked Regal. She just motioned forward again, and began to walk casually forward with Knight, as if they were on an afternoon stroll, and not walking towards an aparoid infestation of her own creation. Fox followed cautiously.

As they walked, the air began to change. The creatures of the forest went silent, their smells faded away. Where there had been a frenzy of activity, there was now nothing but the swaying of trees in the wind. Fox began to notice the first inklings of aparoid influence; glowing tendrils that clung to the ancient trees, climbing up to the sun underneath their bark. Others lay along the ground, roped with leafy creeping vines. He squatted down next to one, poking it gently. It answered by shrinking back away from his touch, its light dying.

"Don't do that," Regal warned, "it's first method of defence is to look dead, but if you persist it will attack you."

"What are these things?"

"The ones on the ground are information lines. They know we are coming now."

"And in the trees?"

"Energy. They've taken over a couple of trees in the area so they can harvest the sunlight. They've manipulated their DNA so that it converts into energy that they can use instead of sugars. Its all quite fascinating really."

"The tree has been turned into aparoids?" Krystal asked.

"Hmn, yes I suppose you can think of it that way. Take a left," Regal directed, turning down a path that continued through the bush for a time, before dropping steeply downwards, until it became almost tunnel-like. The wet, muddy sides were full of glinting aparoid crystal, which Fox presumed had been used to keep the sloping tunnel structurally sound. He felt the occasional insect scuttle by his foot, and he soon realized with a start and a yell that these were miniature versions of the monsters he had fought two years ago. He noticed Regal's slight smile at his expense, and swore that he would not be startled again.

Just when he was starting to think that the tunnel would never end, it opened up onto a balcony overlooking a wide, cavernous room. Regal moved towards a set of steps that led down into the cavern, but Fox stepped closer to the edge of the balcony, careful not to touch the hand railing made of aparoid crystal, and scrutinized the place further. There was a very wide, thick pillar nearby, so close he could almost touch it, that blocked most of the view of the room, but from what he could see, the place was of mostly natural creation. The rounded walls and high, natrually created pillars were all made of stone. There seemed to be only minimal aparaoid intrusion to the natural architecture, like the stone and crystal balcony and the set of wide steps that led down into the main chamber.

He could see a few people wandering around below, so tiny they seemed like ants. There were some he immediately recognized as med-techs and Regal's research assistants from the white, green-shouldered uniforms they wore. There were others as well, not in uniform, that he assumed were aparoids like Knight, that seemed to be aiding the techs in whatever job Regal had given them. He noticed one in particular, a black haired human having a heated discussion with one of the techs. This seemed odd to Fox, since all the other aparoids he had seen had either taken the form of a species native to Lylat, or a completely unrecognizable shape. And if Knight was anything to go by, strong emotion wasn't exactly their forte. Regal's hand fell on his shoulder, commanding his attention away from the scene.

"Your daughter is this way," she said, pointing to the steps.

As they descended the staircase, the voices of the two combatants grew to an audible level, but Fox still couldn't quite make out there words. Regal hurried ahead, presumably to quell the disagreement.

"I guess you guys can get a little heated too sometimes," Fox chuckled to Knight.

"The human is not an aparoid," Knight replied blandly. "She is the sister of the other patient. Her anger lights easily."

"I see," Krystal murmured, a suspicious undertone in her voice. Fox looked at her meaningfully, but she did not return his gaze. They followed Knight around the corner, to where the two had been fighting. He could see now that the tech was an older woman, maybe her late thirties or early fourties. She looked to be some kind of frilled lizard, frighting to keep her warning frills down in her anger. Other than that, there wasn't anything particularly special about her.

The human however, was a completely different story.

Two years had done a lot to her. She had shot up in height, a good six inches at the very least. Her body had developed too, going from a thin, lanky child to a curvy young woman. Her raven hair had been cut aggressively short. All in all, she cut a much more impressive figure than the scared little girl Fox remembered from Corneria.

"Sloan!"

Her head whipped around, eyes still full of her frustrations. Her stare was so much more intense now, it was almost hard to look at her. So much had changed, he barely recognized her.

The fire dropped out of her eyes, replaced with mingled shock and disbelief, before the stare renewed with a different kind of rage. She traded her angry gaze once more between the lizard and Regal, before turning on her heel and disappearing down a side corridor. Regal sighed.

"You'll have to excuse her. She's very scared for her brother, so she's trying to hide it by acting tough. Please, follow me."

As Regal guided them down the same corridor, and though a maze of progressively more aparoid influenced halls, Fox watched the rapid thought flashing across Krystal's eyes as she tried to understand.

_Sloan doesn't have a brother_, her voice said inside Fox's mind. _She's an orphan_. Fox nodded almost indistinguishably at her. Her ears perked as she heard the first threads of Sloan's voice echoing down the corridor. She focused on the fragments of noise, taking in the sound and magnifying it in her mind.

"...Some solution, what's he gunna' do?"

A pause, someone answering her. The voice was lower than hers, more controlled, and Krystal couldn't pick it up. As they drew closer to the room that held the young patients, someone inside must have heard them, because the conversation ended abruptly. Regal stopped, motioning Knight to go ahead of her. He did so, placing his hand on the fleshy material that made the room's door. With a slight whine,it gave way like the valve in a heart. Standing in the doorway, apparently about to emerge, was a man. The sight of this man in the doorway, the man that Sloan had been speaking to, made Fox's heart stop.

XxX

"Where the hell is she!" Sloan demanded loudly of Vrill, Dr. Regal's assistant. Vrill's eyes rolled up into her head in frustration.

"Ye gilded gods, child, we have been over this a thousand times. There are tests that must be run that cannot be done here! Dr. Regal is back at the Medical Centre, and will return when the tests are finished."

"So what are we supposed to do while she's gone, huh? Just sit here like mushrooms?"

"Now listen here..." Vrill growled. Humans were, in her experience, by far the most annoying* species she had ever encountered. This Sloan girl had been after her day and night since about a week after Regal had left. Granted, she was gone longer than usual, but that was no reason for such impatience.

"What seems to be the problem, ladies?" The bright, cheery voice of the doctor cut into their argument. Vrill silently thanked the gods, as now the human's childish wrath would be turned on someone else.

"And where the hell have you been? Connie has been getting sicker every day!"

"I know, I know, but I haven't been wasting my time while I was gone. I think I have found a solution," she announced, and grinned knowingly.

"And what exactly is-" She was cut off by a man calling her name in surprise. She growled in frustration as she turned, expecting some other med tech that wanted a piece of her. When her eyes connected with Fox McCloud, to say she was shocked beyond belief was an understatement. _This is your big solution?_ she thought angrily, looking between Regal and Vrill like she was expecting some kind of reply. When none came, she turned and escaped down the hall that led to her brothers room. She stayed controlled until she reached the mouth of the hall, but after that, it was breakneck speed up until she reached the door.

She placed her hand on it, her biosigns downloaded into the door for security, and it opened without trouble. She was panting hard as she walked in, and Bristol looked up at her in confusion. Wolf did not move, just sat staring down into the bed he was leaning on.

"Fox... he's here... Regal brought him..."

"Of course she did," Wolf replied calmly, "his daughter is here, it was only a matter of time before he showed up."

"But... but, Regal was rambling on about some solution. What's he gunna' do?"

"You don't know anything about her plans, Sloan. Don't be so quick to jump when a problem arises."

Sloan stared angrily at the back of Wolf's head, feeling deflated by his lacklustre response. But the anger died quickly, replaced with concern. He had not made eye contact with her since she had entered the room. They were busy, slowly scanning the contents of the bed, the same thing they had been doing for days. Sloan watched him uncomfortably for a few seconds, she had never seen him so subdued, before approaching him.

The bed he was guarding was more like an over sized cradle. It was green and carapace like, making it look as if the young boy inside, her brother Conrad, was lying in a hollowed out bug. The milk coloured covers looked very warm, and were tucked very tightly around him so that he couldn't move, even if he had the strength for it. A lattice of sinewy threads were laid out over his covers, in a pattern similar to ribs. There was a strange apparatus covering his muzzle, forcing him to breath. It looked like some kind of cartilage sleeve that had latched to his body. Across the room, another cradle did its work on a different patient, a young girl with "Miasma McCloud" on a name plate above her head.

"Has he been doing any better?" Sloan asked hopefully.

"Same as always," Wolf answered flatly. He finally looked up at her, and opened his mouth to say something, but shut it again, his ears perking. He looked at the door. "Seems they're almost here," he said, getting up and walking towards it. Just as he was reaching the threshold, the door came open of it's own accord, and he was face to face with the aparoid, Knight. Behind him a few steps were Krystal and Fox. Probably a wise decision on Regal's part, she couldn't have been sure how aggressive a response to expect from Fox's most bitter enemy.

"Funny seeing you here," he mumbled, and stepped aside to let them pass.


End file.
